1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to thickened liquid shampoo compositions with conditioning properties, particularly those which are very mild.
2. Prior Art
Compositions containing the reaction products of ethoxylated anionic surfactants and certain specific amphoteric surfactants and polyethoxylated nonionic surfactants have been disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,999,069 and 3,055,836, Masci and Poirier. Similar disclosures are contained in the corresponding foreign patent applications such as British Pat. Nos. 850,514, 850,515, and 921,122; and Canadian Pat. No. 595,532. In each of these patents, the disclosure is of a reaction product formed between the anionic surfactant and the amphoteric surfactant which contains ternary nitrogen groups, and there is no disclosure of thickeners.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 3,580,853, Parran, discloses the cationic cellulose ether thickening and conditioning agents of this invention in shampoos to improve the deposition of particulate materials, but without a specific disclosure of the surfactant systems disclosed herein. The cationic cellulose ethers of this invention are known, having been generically disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,472,840, Fred W. Stone and John M. Rutherford, Jr.
The compositions of this invention are all mild. This is a very desirable characteristic. The mildness apparently results from having a combination of anionic and cationic species present. However, as a result, many anionic, cationic, and nonionic polymers are incompatible with such formulas. It is extremely difficult to thicken such formulas and keep a single-phase clear composition. It is even more difficult to prepare a thick clear shampoo composition comprising anionic, zwitterionic or amphoteric, and nonionic surfactants which has good conditioning properties.